


The Puzzle 'Verse

by mithrel



Category: Doctor Who (2005), Merlin (TV), Torchwood
Genre: Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Blanket Permission, Immortal Merlin, M/M, Podfic Welcome, Reincarnation
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2009-07-12
Updated: 2009-09-17
Packaged: 2017-10-31 00:31:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 8,007
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/337936
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/mithrel/pseuds/mithrel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Merlin has seen a lot of things in his long life, but aliens and time travel are new.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Something That Didn't Fit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Jack meets a strange man, and invites him to come to the Millennium Centre.

Jack was walking down the street one day when someone walked into him, almost knocking him to the ground.

He looked over to see a young man with matte-black hair, pale skin and big ears, dressed all in black, complete with black leather wrist cuffs. Jack gave him a once-over as a matter of course.

Rather than telling him to fuck off, the emo kid looked apologetic. “Oh, I’m sorry, I didn’t see you!”

It was then that Jack got a look at his eyes.

He saw eyes like that every time he looked in the mirror–eyes that had seen too much grief, loss and pain. The only other person he knew who had that expression was the Doctor. This kid was far too young to look so world-weary. “It’s fine.”

Shaking off the odd chill meeting the kid’s gaze had given him, he held out a hand. “Captain Jack Harkness.”

The boy looked amused, but shook his hand. “Jethro Wright. ‘Captain,’ hmm?” he continued. “Just what are you Captain of? And what’s with the coat?”

“You should talk, Goth-Boy,” Jack retorted good-naturedly and Jethro laughed.

“Touché. But seriously, Captain of what?”

Jack smirked at him. “I run a secret organization that stops alien threats to Earth.”

Jethro looked at him incredulously for a moment, then laughed again. “You’re full of shit, Captain. But I like you.”

Jack shrugged. “Have it your way. But if you ever want to be proved wrong, come by the Millennium Centre.”

As he walked away, he wondered what had prompted the offer. Maybe it was because there was something…unworldly about the kid. Not alien, just…something that didn’t fit in twenty-first century Cardiff.

***

He didn’t expect to see the kid again, but one day a few weeks later he was talking to Ianto in the tourist information centre that was a front for their organisation about the possibility that the fact that the Rift had been quiescent for a week meant something big was coming.

He’d stepped out to talk to Tosh about something, and as he returned he heard a voice say, “Excuse me, I’m looking for Captain Jack Harkness?”

“Just a moment, I’ll fetch him.”

“No need,” Jack said, stepping out into the room. “Jethro. How are you?”

“Fine, and you? Caught any aliens lately?” Jethro asked, grinning.

“Jack…” Ianto started.

“Calm down, Ianto, it’s fine. I told you I bumped into him a few weeks ago.”

“And do you usually tell your one-night-stands where you work?”

“He wasn’t a one-night-stand!”

Ianto’s expression darkened. Crap. Sometimes he wished he didn’t have a Reputation. “I see.”

Jethro came to his rescue. “Really, I just bumped into him, that’s all. Never saw him before, and haven’t seen him again until now.”

“Well, all right then,” Ianto said, seeming a bit more mollified. “But you still shouldn’t have told him, Jack. We do have security to maintain.”

“Oh, relax, Ianto, he doesn’t believe me anyway, do you Jethro?” Jack asked.

“Not a word,” Jethro confirmed good-naturedly. “I figure you guys are wackos, or else you play some kind of weird game in your off-hours.”

“See?”

“Yes, but he’s _here._ Why is he here?”

“I thought I’d show him around.”

Ianto rolled his eyes while never removing his gaze from him. Jack had never met anyone else who could do that. “And if he sees the Hub, do you think his scepticism will stand up to that?”

“Look, I don’t care one way or another. I’ve seen enough strange things to believe almost anything, and I can keep a secret, but if it’ll cause problems I’ll go.”

“No,” Jack told him. “You are coming downstairs and meeting the staff.”

Jethro shrugged and Ianto looked resigned. “All right.”

As they headed down, Jethro said, “Your boyfriend’s kinda paranoid, isn’t he?”

Jack shrugged. “He has reason to be. And he’s not my boyfriend.”

“So why did he act like he was about to eviscerate me for violating his territory?”

“It’s complicated.”

Jethro nodded. “I get complicated relationships. Which reminds me, I can’t stay long. I’m meeting my boyfriend for dinner.”

“Why didn’t you bring him by?”

“Arthur’s always been more into D&D than Star Trek.”

Jack laughed. “‘Star Trek’? We’re Torchwood. Captain Kirk ain’t got nothing on me.”

“I don’t know,” Jethro teased. “You’re both self-important sex maniacs.”

“Who are you calling ‘self-important’?” Jack demanded, as they reached the cog door.

Gwen and Tosh looked over curiously as they entered.

“Jack, what–?” Tosh began from her computer.

“Got a visitor,” he told her.

“I can see that, but why is he here?”

“Why not?” He turned to Jethro. “Jethro, this is Toshiko Sato, our tech expert. Tosh, Jethro Wright.”

“A pleasure, my lady.” he said, bowing. Tosh blushed.

“Likewise. If you’ll excuse me, we don’t get much time to ourselves, and I want to finish this translation algorithm.”

Jethro looked at Jack, who shrugged and grinned.

“Dr. Owen Harper,” Jack continued, indicating Owen, who’d just walked into the room.

“What about him?” Owen asked.

Jack rolled his eyes. “Introductions. Jethro, Owen; Owen, Jethro.”

“ _Jethro?_ ” Owen repeated. “God, no wonder you’re depressed!"

Jethro laughed.

“And this is Gwen Cooper.”

Jethro bowed to her as well as Owen snorted. “I knew a Gwen once,” he murmured, and his expression went sad.

“This is the Hub,” Jack said, as Jethro shook off his melancholy. “It’s our base of operations.”

“Under the Millennium Centre.”

“Last place anyone would look. We’re actually Torchwood Three. Torchwood One was in London–”

“‘Was’?”

“Well, still is, but they’re still building up again after the disaster two years ago.”

“What disaster?”

“Cybermen. Daleks. You don’t remember, they were everywhere!”

“Wait…do you mean those metal men?”

“Cybermen yeah.”

“And there were things flying through the air, looked like huge pepper-pots…”

Owen snickered and Jack glared at him. “Daleks. If you’re lucky you’ll never encounter one. If you do, you’re dead.”

Jethro shrugged, looking unconcerned. “I figured it was all a hoax.”

“That was the cover we spread afterwards. Part of our job.”

“So if you’re Torchwood Three and Torchwood One is in London, what about Torchwood Two?”

“A very weird man in Glasgow.”

“Is Torchwood Two.”

“Yeah.”

“You’re all nuts.”

“Hey, Jack, have we found Torchwood Four yet?” Gwen asked mischievously. Jack glared at her.

“What do you mean, have you _found_ it?” Jethro demanded.

“It’s been missing since before I joined,” Gwen told him.

“Do I even _want_ to know?” Jethro asked him.

“Probably not.”

Just then there was a screech overhead. No one else reacted, but Jethro’s head whipped up as Myfanwy flew over. “Is…is that a pterodactyl?”

“It’s just Myfanwy.”

“My _what?_ ”

“Myfanwy. Ianto named her. Don’t hold it against him, he’s Welsh.”

“Oi!” Gwen complained and Jack grinned at her.

“Why is there a pterodactyl in your base?”

“Well, we couldn’t very well let her fly around the country. That’s when I hired Ianto, actually, after we caught her.” A wistful smile crossed his face at the memory.

Jethro rubbed his temples. “Yes, I _understand_ that,” he said patiently, sounding like he’d had a lot of practise keeping his temper under extreme provocation, “But where did she _come_ from? Dinosaurs are extinct!”

“She came through the Rift.”

“The what?”

“The Rift. Cardiff is built above a sort of–well a fault-line in reality. That’s why we’re headquartered here.”

“Wait, you mean that energy source that fluctuates all the time?”

Jack was surprised. “You _know_ about the Rift?”

“Well, sure, how can you miss it? I need to convince Arthur to move back to London, it gives me migraines.”

“The Rift.”

Jethro nodded.

“Gives you _migraines._ ”

Jethro nodded again, looking as if it should be obvious, and Jack gave up.

“Do you want to see the vaults?”

***

“What the hell _is_ that thing?” Jethro demanded, staring at the Weevil.

“It’s a Weevil.”

“No _way_ something with teeth like that is named after an insect!”

“We call them Weevils, anyway. They live in the sewers. Except for Janet, here.”

Jethro looked at him as if he was a dangerous lunatic. “You call something with four-inch fangs and muscles like a gorilla ‘ _Janet_ ’?”

Jack shrugged. “This is where we keep the things that are too dangerous to let loose.”

“Like the Weevils.”

“Yeah.”

Just then there was a beeping sound and Jethro pulled out his cell phone. “Shit, I’m late!”

He ran for the tunnels up to the Hub, calling back, “Thanks for the tour!”

“Any time!” Jack replied, thinking that Jethro had acted almost normal. But that business about the Rift giving him migraines…He might have to look into it.


	2. Something That Didn't Fit

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Jack meets Arthur, and gets an explanation

“Merlin! Where have you _been?_ ”

“Out, and I told you not to call me that!” he hissed, as he slipped into the booth beside Arthur. “It’s bad enough you kept your name–put ‘Arthur’ and ‘Merlin’ together and people are going to get suspicious!”

“I _like_ my name,” Arthur protested. “And ‘Jethro’ is a stupid name anyway.”

Merlin shook his head. It was an old argument, and it wasn’t going to be resolved tonight.

“Out where?”

“Chasing aliens.”

Arthur choked on his beer. “You _what?!_ ”

“OK, not exactly. You remember that guy I told you about?”

***

The next day Merlin was back at the Millennium Centre, Arthur not having believed him about Torchwood.

“You know,” the well-dressed man–Ianto, wasn’t it? Merlin wasn’t sure; he was the only one who he hadn’t been introduced to–said drily, looking at the two of them, “We’re not running an _actual_ tourist centre.”

“Yeah, sorry. Arthur didn’t believe me when I told him about you.”

“Good. I still think we should retcon you, and him too to be safe.”

“‘Retcon’?” Arthur demanded. Ianto ignored him and Merlin could see he was gearing up to throw a princely fit, when Jack wandered out.

“What’s going on?”

“I was just wondering if you’d mind showing Arthur around.”

Jack looked at Arthur and _leered_. Merlin stepped in front of Arthur and glared, and Jack backed off. 

“Sure, come on downstairs.”

Ianto’s sarcastic “I’ll just install a revolving door, then, shall I?” followed them into the tunnel.

“I can see why he was jealous,” Merlin said to Jack, “If that’s your usual reaction to meeting new people.”

Jack shrugged. “It’s a reflex. Doesn’t mean anything.”

Arthur spluttered.

***

They went through the same round of introductions. Arthur looked around with a sort of haughty indifference, but Merlin could see he was impressed, particularly when the pterodactyl flew over.

“It’s just Myfanwy, she came through the Rift,” Merlin explained casually. Jack gave him an amused look.

“The what?”

“The Rift. A rip in the space-time continuum. Runs right through Cardiff,” Jack explained. 

“Where does it lead?”

“Somewhere else, somewhen else, I dunno. It shifts, there doesn’t seem to be a set time and place at the other end.”

“So you could travel through it?” Arthur wanted to know.

“Not unless you wanted to end up stranded, and that’s if you’re lucky. It only opens up occasionally, thank God, or we’d be waist deep in Weevils.”

“Weevils? What is this, a granary?”

Jack smirked. “Come down to the vaults.”

***

“What _is_ that?” Arthur demanded.

“That,” Jack said calmly, “is a Weevil.”

“And I thought the Questing Beast was bad,” Arthur muttered.

“Sorry?”

“Nothing,” Arthur said quickly, as Merlin gave him a dirty look.

“Why does the Rift give you migraines?” Jack asked suddenly. “Why can you even sense it at all? Why do you look like that?”

“Like what?” Merlin asked suspiciously.

“Like…like you’ve been alive forever, seen everyone and everything you know and love turn to dust.”

There was an odd note in Jack’s voice as he said this.

“Because I have,” he said quietly, not sure why he was telling him this. It just seemed he’d understand.

“What?” 

“Well, OK, not _forever_ , although it felt like it, particularly when I was waiting for Prince Prat here to get himself reborn,” he said, digging Arthur in the ribs

“Hey!” Arthur protested, refusing to rub his side. “Those elbows are lethal weapons! Besides, it’s not _my_ fault you’re immortal! You’re lucky I got reincarnated at all, although this doesn’t look like ‘Britain’s hour of need’ to me, the economy notwithstanding.”

“What the hell are you talking about?” Jack demanded.

Merlin started. For a moment he’d forgotten he was even there.

Jack glared at him, waiting for an explanation. Arthur smirked. “Well, Merlin? Are you going to tell him?”

“Wait, _Merlin?_ Merlin and _Arthur?_ The wizard and the once and future king?”

“Exactly,” Arthur said smugly.

“Wait, I thought Merlin was _old_ ,” Jack shot at him.

Merlin shrugged. “When I saw I was going to live a long time I started spreading rumours to sort of…blur things a bit.”

Jack scrubbed his hand over his face. “So let me get this straight. You’re Merlin, the wizard, advisor and mentor to King Arthur?”

“‘Mentor’!” Arthur snorted. “That’s rich! What kind of lies have you been telling? You couldn’t find your arse with both hands!”

“At least I _have_ an arse instead of _being_ one!” Merlin shot back.

“Um, hello? God, you’re like an old married couple…And that’s another thing, Arthur and Merlin weren’t lovers! You married Guinevere!”

Arthur grimaced. “Political expediency. She knew what was going on.”

“Is that why she had an affair with Lancelot?”

Arthur glared at Merlin again. “All the misinformation you were spreading and you left _that_ intact?”

“What does it matter?”

“I don’t want everyone to know my wife cheated on me!”

“In case you’ve forgotten, _you_ were busy buggering your manservant. Besides, no one knows she was _your_ wife!”

“Would you prefer I leave you two alone?”

Merlin winced, “Yeah, sorry. He gets in these moods.”

“I don’t believe any of this,” Jack announced, before Arthur could retort.

“Don’t you?” Merlin approached him. “There’s something odd about you, Captain. You don’t belong here any more than we do.”

“I do so!”

“No need to get defensive. I’m just stating a fact.” He approached Jack, until he was right in his face. Admirably, Jack didn’t flinch. But when his eyes went gold, Jack backpedalled so fast he almost fell over.

“So. I’m not the only immortal in Cardiff.”

“What?” Arthur demanded. 

“He can’t die,” Merlin replied.

“What the hell was that?” Jack demanded. 

Merlin shrugged. “Just a spell. Do you believe me now?”

“I guess so,” Jack conceded reluctantly.

“How’d it happen?”

“Long story.” 

“You’d think after being immortal so long he’d have bothered to look up the definition,” Merlin remarked to Arthur.

“Fine! I was a former Time Agent running a con in London in 1941!”

“During the Blitz?”

“Best place for it.”

“A Time Agent?” Arthur wanted to know.

Jack sighed. “Like I said, long story. I was on the run from them, but I still had my Vortex Manipulator.” At their confused looks, he said, “That’s how I travelled through time. Anyway, I met this strange guy and his friend, turns out he was a Time Lord, the last of them…”

“Wait, the Doctor?” Merlin demanded.

“You know the Doctor?” Jack asked, suddenly intent.

Merlin shrugged. “Met him a few times, why?”

“He’s the reason I’m immortal, at least indirectly. Like I said, I met him in 1941, travelled with him for awhile. We ended up on a satellite broadcasting station in the year 200100. It was being run by Daleks.”

“Wait, you said if you encounter a Dalek you wouldn’t survive,” Merlin said.

“I didn’t. They killed me. The Doctor had sent Rose–that was his friend–back home, but she opened the heart of the TARDIS and got it to bring her back. She resurrected me and destroyed the Daleks, and the Doctor sucked the energy out of her before it could kill her.”

Arthur whistled.

“They left me there. Apparently I was supposed to ‘help rebuild the Earth,’” his voice was bitter.

“I used the Manipulator to get back, but I ended up in 1869. Found out I was immortal fairly quickly. After that I moved to Cardiff to try to find the Doctor.”

“Did you find him?” Merlin asked.

Jack nodded. “Last year. Helped him out again. He’d regenerated.”

Arthur looked confused. “Time Lords are long-lived. They do this thing where if they’re killed or their old body wears out, they make a new one, but they can’t do it forever,” Merlin explained and Jack nodded.

“He’d regenerated and had a new Companion, but he was able to tell me what happened.”

“What did happen?” Arthur demanded.

“Like I said, Rose resurrected me. But she couldn’t control it. She made it so I couldn’t die.”

He looked at Arthur. “What about you? Are you immortal?”

Arthur shrugged. “Dunno.” 

“Wouldn’t know it, with all the chances you take!” Merlin shot at him.

“You should talk. Being a wizard in Camelot was bad enough, what do you think people will do to you now?”

“I’m careful!” Merlin shot back, irritated, “And if people get suspicious I just create a simulacrum and leave it in a river. Harder now that there’s DNA testing, but still possible.”

“Idiot! You’re going to get yourself killed!”

“Another one who needs a dictionary,” Merlin muttered.

“And you were just recently reincarnated?” Jack asked Arthur, trying to derail the argument.

“Yeah.”

“What about you? Don’t people notice you don’t age?”

“I do. I use magic to make people who want kids but can’t have them believe they adopted me, and I change my appearance using illusion.”

“That’s illusion?”

“No, this is what I really look like. Only the aging is illusion.”

“And you keep changing your name?”

He nodded. “I recycle identities after a century or so, but yeah.”

Jack laughed. “An immortal, a wizard and a king. Who’d believe it?”

Merlin grinned. “Nobody.”

“I think we’ve been here long enough,” Arthur said suddenly, checking his watch.

Merlin pulled out his mobile and looked at it. “You’re right. Nice talking to you, Captain.”

Jack grinned. “Drop by sometime. I’ll be here.”

“I’ll do that,” Merlin promised as they entered the Hub proper.

***

As they left, Jack heard Merlin ask, “ _Now_ do you believe me?”

“Yes, Merlin, I believe you.”

“‘Merlin’?” Tosh repeated.

“Yep,” Jack said.

“Merlin and _Arthur_.”

“Yep,” he repeated.

“Like from the legend?”

“Apparently the same ones.”

“You’re kidding!”

“Who’re we to judge what’s strange?”

Tosh looked around at the banks of computers, the lift and the pterodactyl. “I guess you’re right.”


	3. An Odd Encounter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin runs into some strange people.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Prequel to Something That Didn’t Fit and Solving a Puzzle. References School Reunion and Battlefield.

Merlin was walking down the street one day when he heard, “You know, you’re a lot weirder since you regenerated. Not that you were normal before.”

The words didn’t make sense, and they caught his attention. He turned to see a blonde girl about his apparent age, walking next to a man wearing, incongruously enough, a suit and trainers. He had flyaway hair and looked to be in his mid-thirties. There was something odd about him, which was only reinforced when he said, “What, you mean you liked my other self better?”

“I didn’t say that,” the blonde protested, and the man grinned.

“Well come on, we’d best get back to the TARDIS.”

They didn’t _look_ crazy, but they were speaking in gibberish, and Merlin was intrigued. He muttered a concealing spell and followed them.

“And we need to talk about that Sarah Jane person,” the blonde said as Merlin trailed after them.

The man winced. “I’d rather not.”

“Too bad. She travelled with you?”

“Yes,” the man replied shortly, then, “Rose it was lifetimes ago, literally.”

“So you just forgot about her? What about if I leave, will you forget about me?”

Merlin felt guilty eavesdropping on this. On the one hand, it was a public street. On the other, they didn’t know he was there, and no one else was around.

The man stopped and took hold of her shoulders. “I _won’t_ forget about you! I didn’t forget about her, either, I just…try not to think about her anymore.”

“Why not?”

The man ran his hand absently through his hair before answering. “You saw. When humans get to the end of their lives, they die. I don’t; I regenerate. Sarah Jane didn’t know me, at least not this ‘me.’ I could travel back or forward in time, see them all again, but they wouldn’t recognise me. So I don’t think about them, because it’s less painful that way.”

The blonde nodded, and took his hand. He smiled sadly as they continued walking.

Merlin was lost. Travelling through time? That was impossible. And what was this “regenerating” business? He’d have thought the man was out of his mind, but neither he nor the girl acted like it.

They turned a corner, and Merlin saw an old-fashioned police box. But the last of those had disappeared twenty years ago, so what was it doing here?

“Home sweet home,” the man muttered and unlocked it. He stepped inside, and the girl followed.

What were they going to do inside a police box? There would be barely enough room for both of them. Merlin followed the girl in before he thought, and stared in shock.

He was in a room resembling a cathedral in both size and atmosphere. What looked like coral grew from the walls, and there was a humming noise throughout, concentrated on a central column.

The man looked at him sharply. “Who are you?”

“What?” Merlin asked. He’d lost the spell! That hadn’t happened in centuries! He tried to restore it, only to find not only that he couldn’t, but that he didn’t feel his magic at all anymore. He panicked.

“Who are you?” the man asked again. “How’d you get on my TARDIS?”

“TARDIS?” Merlin repeated, still trying to restore the spell.

The man gestured around. “My ship. Stands for Time and Relative Dimensions in Space.”

“Ship?”

“Are you alright?” the man asked in concern, taking a step toward him.

“Uh…no, no I’m not. Can I just…can I leave…for a minute?”

The man smiled. “It does take people like that the first time. At least you haven’t said, ‘It’s bigger on the inside than the outside,’ that gets old _really_ fast!”

“Does it?” Merlin repeated weakly, stepping out the door. As soon as he did, his magic returned. He sagged against the wall of the police-box…ship…TARDIS…whatever-it-was…in relief. “Thank God!”

“Are you sure you’re alright?” the man asked, following him outside.

“I am now.” Merlin stared at him. “Who _are_ you? What _is_ that?” _How did it make me lose my magic?_

“She’s a ship,” the man replied.

“‘ _She_ ’?”

“Look, it’ll be easier to talk inside…”

“No! No way! I’m not going back in there!”

“Why not?” The girl had finally decided to say something. “It’s a bit much at first, but…”

“No. Absolutely not,” Merlin replied flatly.

“Who are you anyway?” the girl asked.

“I’m Merlin.”

She laughed. “Like from the legend?”

“Exactly like that, yes.”

“Wait, _Merlin?_ You mean you were named after him, right?” the man asked.

“Uh...actually no,” Merlin replied.

“You’re _the_ Merlin,” the man said.

“I am.” He must be seriously off-balance from temporarily losing his magic–he shouldn’t be telling him this! On the other hand, most people didn’t own magic-cancelling, physically impossible police boxes, so maybe he’d believe him.

“In what universe?” the man demanded.

Merlin blinked. Of all the responses he’d expected, that wasn’t one of them. “Uh…this one?”

“Oh, OK then. So Morgaine and Ancelyn and the rest would still recognise me,” he muttered as if to himself. “By the way,” he asked, turning to Merlin again, “Did Arthur really die at Camlann?”

Merlin stared at him. “Uh…yes and no. He’s coming back someday. Might have already happened.”

“So it wasn’t just propaganda?”

Merlin turned to the girl. “Do you know what he’s talking about?”

She spread her hands and shook her head. “Don’t look at me. I’m just the ‘assistant.’”

For some reason the man winced. “Look, will you leave it?”

“So why don’t you want to go in the TARDIS?” the girl asked, ignoring him.

“It cancels out my magic.”

The man slapped his forehead. “Of course, magic and technology, two opposing forces, of course she’d cancel it out! Hold on a sec!” And he disappeared back into the police box.

Merlin stared at the girl. “Who _is_ this guy?”

She smiled. “He’s the Doctor.”

“Doctor? Doctor Who?”

She grinned. “Just the Doctor.”

Just then the Doctor poked his head out, “OK, I’ve talked to her, it should work now.”

 _Talked to her?_ Merlin was beginning to wish he’d gone back to his flat instead of following the strange people.

“Well come on!” the Doctor said impatiently.

Merlin went back inside, with some trepidation, but his magic was still present. He relaxed.

“So what are you doing here?” the Doctor demanded.

“I heard…” he gestured to the girl.

“Oh, sorry, haven’t introduced myself. I’m the Doctor and this is Rose.”

“Hello,” Rose said.

Merlin nodded to her. He wouldn’t normally be so rude, but he was a bit frazzled. “I heard Rose mention…regeneration, was it? It caught my attention, so I followed you.”

“But I didn’t see…” Rose began.

“Of course not, Rose. He was using a spell to keep from being seen until the TARDIS nulled it out, isn’t that right?”

Merlin flushed. “Yeah. Sorry.”

“You can _not_ do magic. There’s no such thing!” Rose scoffed.

“‘There are more things in heaven and earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy,’” The Doctor quoted. “You should know that by now, Rose.”

“Yes, but _magic?!_ And Merlin might be immortal, or age backwards or whatever, but I doubt he’d look like _that!_ ”

Merlin bristled. “Oh, really?” He looked around carefully. He didn’t want to mess with the central console–it had levers and dials and buttons and gods only knew what else on it, and using magic anywhere near it might have disastrous consequences. Also, he felt something, a touch at the back of his mind, a sense that if he did anything to harm the Doctor or Rose his magic would be removed permanently.

So he did the easiest thing, and conjured up a light in his palm.

Rose gaped at it, then asked, “What language was that?”

“English. Well,” he amended, “technically Old English, but it’s what I’ve always used.”

“You really _are_ Merlin,” she said, still staring.

Merlin grinned and bowed, dismissing the light. “At your service.”

“But what are you doing here?” Rose demanded.

“I’m immortal, like you said. I've been hanging around for centuries.”

“Immortal, fine, but you don’t look any older than me!”

“I’m not…well, not physically anyway.”

“But Merlin was _old!_ ”

“Who do you think was responsible for the legends?” he asked, grinning.

“Oh.”

Merlin nodded. “I spread so much contradictory information they’ll never get their story straight.”

The Doctor laughed. “I like you. It’s the type of thing I’d do. Mind you, most of the things people have heard about me are unbelievable, but they’re all true.”

“I haven’t heard anything about you,” Merlin said.

“Neither had I, until I checked that website,” Rose put in.

“Ah, well, you’d have to have worked for the government,” the Doctor said.

“You worked for the government?” Rose demanded.

“For several years yes, while I was stuck on Earth,” the Doctor told her. “That’s where I met Sarah Jane.”

Rose made a face.

“But who _are_ you?” Merlin demanded.

“I told you, I’m the Doctor,” he replied.

“Yes,” Merlin said slowly. “That’s a title. Not a name. It doesn’t tell me why you’ve got this…this whatever-it-is,” he said, gesturing to the TARDIS, “Or who you are, or where you’re from, or what you’re doing here.”

“The TARDIS is mine,” the Doctor said. “Possession is nine-tenths of the law, and anyway, who’s going to take it back from me?” he challenged.

“Uh…no one?” Merlin hazarded.

The Doctor sagged. “That’s right, no one. No one left to take it back. Time Lords, Daleks, Gallifrey, all gone,” he finished quietly.

Rose shot Merlin a dirty look. “It’s fine, Doctor. You’ve got me, remember?”

He smiled. “Yeah, yeah I do.”

“Time Lords?” Merlin asked, half-afraid of saying something he shouldn’t.

The Doctor sighed. “Yes, Time Lords. You’re looking at the last of them right now.”

“But what _are_ ‘Time Lords’?”

“A race that can travel through time,” Rose said, as if it should be obvious.

Merlin scoffed. “I don’t believe it.”

“You can do magic, but you don’t believe in aliens or time travel?” the Doctor asked curiously.

Merlin shook his head. “Nope.”

“Even though you’ve seen the TARDIS?”

“No.”

“Hmm, stubborn.” The Doctor turned to Rose. “Shall we show him?”

“Is that a good idea? God only knows where we’d end up.”

“Well if we go backwards and stay on Earth, he’ll know what’s going on, as long as we don’t go too far.”

“No way,” Merlin said. “You’re both crazy, I don’t even know why I followed you.”

Rose pouted.

The Doctor shrugged, “Well, there’s the door. I’m sure I’ll see you again.”

Merlin walked out, refusing to look back. They were clearly insane, “TARDIS” notwithstanding. He’d been accused of being an idiot often enough, but he knew better than to get involved with them, even assuming they _were_ telling the truth. The door closed behind him and he heard a sound like…well, the closest he could come was a vacuum cleaner underwater, and the TARDIS disappeared.

He gaped at the spot where it had been for a moment, before turning around and going home.


	4. Déjà Vu All Over Again

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Merlin encounters the Doctor again…only it’s a different Doctor.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> From an idea by dozybean. Thanks to the people at [](http://merlinxarthur.livejournal.com/profile)[**merlinxarthur**](http://merlinxarthur.livejournal.com/) for suggestions on a quote about Camelot (from Jackie Kennedy Onassis and the musical “Camelot”). The title is a Yogi Berra quote, since I had no clue what to title this.

Merlin and Arthur walked out of a pub and Merlin suddenly caught sight of a familiar face. “Rose!” he called.

“Who?” Arthur demanded as Rose walked over to them.

“Do I…know you?”

“Yeah…uh…” Merlin caught himself. She looked the same, but… “Maybe. Depends. Are you travelling with the Doctor?”

“How do you know about that?” she demanded.

“Merlin, what’s going on?” Arthur put in.

 _Stupid time travel. I don’t know if she’s met me yet_ , Merlin thought, ignoring Arthur.

“This guy bothering you, Rose?”

Merlin gulped. This could only be the Doctor–but not the one he’d met. This one was bald with big ears, wearing a leather jacket–the previous incarnation, and from the stories he’d heard he did _not_ want to mess with him. “No, no, we were just leaving,” Merlin said, grabbing Arthur’s arm.

“Hold it. Who are you?”

“Nobody!” Merlin said.

“How do you know the Doctor?” Rose asked.

The man glared at him. “OK, stop messing about, who are you?”

“Spoilers,” Merlin said desperately.

The man opened his mouth, stopped, then said, “Oh. I haven’t met you yet?”

“No.”

“Merlin, what the hell is going on?” Arthur demanded.

Merlin groaned. He hadn’t believed in time travel until he saw it. The Doctor had yet to get him in the TARDIS again…Merlin was still leery of it after losing his magic the first time, although the Doctor had assured him it was fine. How he was going to explain this to Arthur…

“This is the Doctor, and Rose,” he said, “Now we need to leave.”

“Hold on,” Arthur said. “Tell me why you know them and they don’t know you.”

“You aren’t half full of yourself are you?” the Doctor asked. “What do you think you are, King or somethin’?”

“Actually–” Arthur began, and Merlin groaned.

“Stop! Just stop. You’re Arthur, I’m Merlin, he’s the Doctor, she’s Rose, and we need to _go!_ ”

Arthur narrowed his eyes at him. “Why?”

Merlin groaned again and decided hell with the timeline. He turned to the Doctor. “OK, I’m going to have to explain it to him. Can you set a time-lock on this meeting, so you don’t remember until we meet for the first time?” His head hurt just saying that.

The Doctor shrugged. “Sure.”

“And you can’t mention it,” Merlin said to Rose.

She nodded. “OK.”

“Merlin…” Arthur said warningly.

“OK, OK!” He stopped, collected his thoughts, then realised he had no idea how to explain. “Can you explain to him?” he asked the Doctor weakly.

The Doctor smirked. “I don’t even know who you are.”

“Yes, I know, but look, he won’t believe in time travel!”

“ _Time_ travel?” Arthur said.

“Yeah, time travel. I’m a Time Lord.”

“What’s a Time Lord?”

Merlin sighed. “An alien that can travel through time.”

Arthur turned to Merlin, “More aliens?”

“Yes,” Merlin said.

“Wait, this is that guy you were talking about!”

“Yes and no,” Merlin said. _Please don’t mention Jack; the timeline is damaged enough as it is._

“You told him about me?” the Doctor demanded.

“Yeah,” Merlin replied. “God, I knew this was a bad idea. The timeline is going to be full of holes.”

“Not if I erase the memory of this meeting until we meet for the first time. When was that, incidentally?”

“Your next incarnation. But Rose is going to react differently when we meet now she’s already met me.”

“I’ll do my best not to,” Rose put in.

“You’re all crazy,” Arthur said. “Especially you,” he finished, turning to Merlin.

“It’s not my fault!”

Arthur smirked. “It’s always your fault.”

“Well, in for a penny, in for a pound,” the Doctor said. “Want to see the TARDIS?”

“TARDIS?” Arthur asked.

“Sure,” Merlin said.

Arthur and Merlin followed the Doctor to the police box.

“It’s a police box,” Arthur said. “What did you do, raid a museum?”

“The TARDIS isn’t _just_ a police box!” the Doctor snapped at him. “Tell me, do I run into _him_ again?” he asked Merlin.

“Not that I know of,” Merlin said.

"Thank Rassilon for small favours."

Arthur spluttered.

The Doctor unlocked the TARDIS. “Well, come on in.”

“You can’t be serious!”

“Oh, I am. Come on,” the Doctor said, as Rose grinned.

“There is _no way_ all of us will fit in there!” Arthur protested.

“You might be surprised,” Rose said, taking his arm.

Merlin hung back.

“Something wrong?” the Doctor asked.

“Tell the TARDIS I’m coming aboard, will you?” Merlin asked.

The Doctor gave him an odd look, then shrugged and went inside, returning after a moment.

“Alright, I told her.”

“How can you _tell_ a police-box anything?” Arthur demanded.

“I told you, she’s not _just_ a police box! She’s alive!”

“Alive, right,” Arthur said, in the voice he used for talking to lunatic sorcerers who wanted to kill him and Merlin when he was being particularly dense.

“Come inside, you’ll see!”

Arthur followed the Doctor and Rose inside, and Merlin followed him. His magic was still present, thankfully.

Arthur looked around and made a strangled noise. Then he turned and walked back out. Merlin followed him.

He walked around the police box, then tapped it suspiciously. His knuckles rapped against the wood.

He went back inside. “It’s…it’s impossible! It’s…”

“Bigger on the inside than the outside,” the Doctor, Rose and Merlin chorused.

“Yes, I know,” the Doctor continued, “But I wish you lot could find something else to say.”

Merlin grinned. “Believe me now?”

“Well look, just because he’s got a…what did you call this?”

“A TARDIS. Time and Relative Dimensions in Space,” the Doctor said.

“Yes, that, doesn’t mean he can travel through time!”

“You sure?” Rose asked, grinning. “Hey, Doctor, can we take them somewhere?”

“I don’t think that’s such a good idea…” the Doctor began.

“Please?”

He sighed irritably. “Fine. Where do you want to go?”

“I’d like to see Camelot again,” Arthur said wistfully.

“Nope, no way, not a good idea, you could meet yourself, and if you think the timeline’s messed up now…”

“What if no one would see us?” Merlin asked. _Oh, no, you can’t tell them about your magic yet, Rose would remember._

“You think cloaking technology grows on trees?” the Doctor demanded.

“No, but…” Merlin turned to Rose, “Forget you saw this.”

She nodded.

Merlin concentrated and disappeared.

Rose jumped backwards and collided with the Doctor, who caught her. The Doctor actually looked vaguely impressed.

“How are you doing that?” he wanted to know.

“Magic,” Merlin said, appearing again.

“ _Magic?_ ” Rose squawked. “Wait. Merlin and Arthur. You’re…”

“King Arthur and his idiot manservant, yes,” Arthur said, rolling his eyes.

“Wait, manservant?”

“Never mind,” Merlin said.

“But how?”

“Immortality and reincarnation,” Merlin said, wondering why whenever he met the Doctor he had conversations like this.

“The once and future King…” Rose murmured. “And you’ve been here all this time?”

Merlin shrugged. “Yeah.”

“So you can make yourself invisible?” the Doctor asked.

Merlin nodded. “And the rest of us.”

“What about the TARDIS?” Arthur asked. “I shudder to think what my father would do if he found an enchanted box that’s bigger inside than out.”

Merlin shook his head. “That I can’t do anything about.”

“Can’t you repair the chameleon circuit, Doctor?” Rose asked.

He sighed. “I’ve tried, you know that. I’ll take a look.” He walked over to the central console and took off a panel.

“Chameleon circuit?” Merlin asked.

Rose shrugged. “Something to make the TARDIS blend in wherever it goes. It doesn’t work–the TARDIS has been stuck as a police box as long as I’ve known him.”

“Could be a problem,” Merlin said.

“Not as much as you’d think.”

Just then the Doctor swore.

“I doubt he’ll be able to repair it.”

“I will so!” The Doctor’s voice was muffled by the console, but the indignation was still clearly audible. Rose rolled her eyes.

A few minutes later he said, “Got it. Should hold at least for awhile.”

“You sure?” Rose asked.

“Yes, Rose Tyler, I am _sure!_ Alright then, Camelot, what time?”

“But no one knows where Camelot _is!_ ” Rose protested, then stopped, blushing. “Sorry. I forgot.”

Arthur smirked. “You know where it is?” he asked the Doctor.

“Yeah. I’ve been there a time or two, although it was always before you were born. If anyone got suspicious I could claim magic…”

“Which you couldn’t do after magic was outlawed.” Arthur said.

“Didn’t fancy being burned at the stake,” the Doctor said cheerfully.

“Wait, why would they outlaw magic?” Rose asked.

Arthur lips thinned.

“It’s a long story,” Merlin said. Even after all this time, Arthur didn’t like being reminded of Igraine and how he was born. Anticipating her next question, he said, “I had to keep my magic secret from almost everyone until Arthur became King.”

She nodded.

“So, when do you want to go?”

“May, 527,” Arthur said.

“Any particular reason?” Rose asked.

Arthur shrugged. “Merlin and I were around the age we are now, so if someone does see us, they’re less likely to be suspicious.”

“OK, then,” the Doctor said, punching in the coordinates.

“Here goes nothing,” Rose said, and grinned at his glare.

“Take them to the wardrobe room. Get something for yourself while you’re at it.”

“What about you?” Rose asked.

“What _about_ me?”

Rose rolled her eyes. “Fine. Come on.”

***

The “wardrobe room” turned out to be a huge room filled with more kinds of clothes than Merlin had ever seen.

Rose walked through the aisles, then stopped. “This should be about the right section.”

Merlin looked at the clothes and felt a pang of nostalgia. There were tunics and breeches and cotes…and boots that looked like they had been handmade.

He rummaged through them, and found clothes similar to what he’d worn when he was Arthur’s manservant, then went looking for boots.

He found a pair that fit fairly well, noticing Rose one aisle over looking through dresses.

Arthur had evidently found something satisfactory, and he looked at Merlin. “Well, are you going to help me dress?”

Merlin scowled. “I haven’t been your manservant in centuries. Dress your own self!”

“Not even for old times’ sake?”

Arthur could put puppies to shame when it came to large, soulful eyes. Merlin sighed. “Fine, come on.”

They left Rose still looking through the clothes, and found a dressing room. Merlin pulled off Arthur’s T-shirt, mindful of the odd fusion of his old manservant duties and what he’d been doing more recently for entirely different reasons.

He pulled the tunic over Arthur’s head, and spent a moment fumbling with the laces before he remembered how it was supposed to go.

Arthur toed off his trainers, and Merlin unbuttoned his jeans, thinking how much easier it had been to stay professional when there were laces instead of buttons. He peeled them off, and Arthur stepped into the breeches, then he handed Arthur the boots and cote.

“Thanks.” Arthur sat down to put the boots on…over his socks, Merlin noticed, but then he was wearing modern briefs as well, and it wasn’t likely anyone would be in a position to see. Merlin changed quickly, pretending not to see Arthur watching him.

“Oh,” Arthur said offhandedly. “You might want this.”

“What?”

Arthur handed him a piece of cloth. Merlin unfolded it, and realised it was a neckerchief. He put it on, feeling oddly touched.

As they left the room, they heard, “Bloody _hell!_ ” from a nearby chamber.

Arthur looked at Merlin and grinned. “Morgana always said the gowns she had to wear were impossible.”

“Problem?” Merlin asked innocently.

After a moment Rose came out, _sans_ shoes and socks. “I have never in my life been so grateful for women’s lib!”

Merlin grinned. “Need some help?”

Rose looked dubious. “I dunno…”

“It’s fine; you really need Gwen for something like this, but I at least know the general design.”

“But…”

Arthur smirked. “You don’t need to fear for your virtue. Merlin’s with me.”

Rose stared at him blankly. “He’s…”

“He’s _with_ me,” Arthur repeated, in the same tone he used to explain something to Merlin he’d thought should have been obvious.

“Oh,” Rose said, then her eyes went wide. “ _Oh!_ Yeah, sure you can help!”

***

When they got back to the console room, the Doctor said, “We’re here. Hurry up–I had to jury-rig the chameleon circuit, dunno how long it’s gonna last.”

They stepped outside, into the forests around Camelot. Looking back at the TARDIS, they saw it had turned into an oak tree. Merlin cast the spell to make them invisible and inaudible.

“I can still see you,” Rose said doubtfully.

“Of course. It’d be pretty hard to keep track of each other if the spell worked on us, but no one else can see us or hear us.”

“You sure?”

“Trust me.”

“We’re pretty close to the city,” the Doctor said. “I didn’t want to land right in it in case the chameleon circuit went.”

“On the other hand, if we need to make a quick getaway, the TARDIS is all the way out here,” Rose complained.

“No one will see us,” Merlin insisted. “I made sure of that!”

***

After about ten minutes’ walk they were within sight of the city. Merlin and Arthur both stopped a moment, seeing something they’d thought gone forever.

The Doctor shot an irritable look over his shoulder, then his expression softened.

“That’s Camelot?” Rose breathed.

“That’s Camelot,” Arthur confirmed, his voice choked. “A fleeting wisp of glory. There will never be another Camelot again.”

“It’s beautiful.”

Arthur shot her a look part gratitude, part pride and part sorrow. “Yes,” he agreed. “It is.”

“So are you King yet? Now, I mean?”

Arthur shook off his mood. “No. My father’s still King.”

They passed through the gates, and Merlin looked around, feeling like he did when he first came from Ealdor. It looked just like he remembered it. It was early, and there weren’t too many people about, but those that were there ignored them.

“This is spooky,” Rose muttered, as a woman carrying a basket of washing passed close enough to touch.

“Oh, relax, Rose,” the Doctor said. “This is Camelot! How many people get the chance to say they’ve been here?”

“Well, you, for one,” Rose teased. “And those two,” she continued, gesturing to Arthur and Merlin.

“Are you alright?” Merlin asked Arthur quietly.

“Fine,” he said, “I’m fine, it’s just…I never thought I’d see it again.”

Just then Merlin caught sight of…himself, walking towards the gates with a basket over his arm, probably on an errand for Gaius.

“OK, _that_ is spooky,” Merlin muttered.

“Stay away from him,” the Doctor said. “There’ll be catastrophic consequences if you touch him. That goes double for you, your majesty.”

Arthur glared. “I’m not an idiot.”

“Coulda fooled me.”

Merlin grabbed ahold of Arthur’s cote to keep him from launching himself at the Doctor. “Not a good idea.”

“Besides, he treats everyone like that,” Rose said.

Arthur relaxed, and Merlin let go of him, but he still glowered at the Doctor, who ignored him.

***

They wandered around Camelot for awhile. They went to Gaius’ lab, and, seeing him again, Merlin took a step toward him, involuntarily.

“Don’t do it,” Arthur muttered.

Merlin caught himself.

The same thing happened when he saw Gwen, and when Arthur caught sight of Morgana passing in the courtyard Merlin had to remind him.

“I never thought I’d miss her lecturing me.”

Merlin smiled sadly, and took Arthur’s hand and squeezed. Arthur returned the pressure.

Just then there was a blare of trumpets. They looked up to see Uther standing to address the populace.

Arthur stiffened.

“Can we go?” he asked the Doctor.

“Had enough already?” he asked, focussed on Uther.

“Please, can we…can we just _go?_ ”

The Doctor looked at Arthur’s expression and nodded in understanding. “’Course. Rose, time to go.”

***

It was a good thing they left when they did. Just as they reached the spot where they’d left the TARDIS there was a _pffflllbt_ sound and the police-box appeared in place of the oak tree.

“Chameleon circuit’s gone again,” the Doctor muttered. “Come on, let’s get out of here before someone sees.”

They entered the TARDIS, and the Doctor moved to the console. He pressed some buttons, there was a whir and a whoosh, then nothing.

“We’ll be back in London in a few minutes,” he said.

Arthur nodded. “Thank you,” he told the Doctor sincerely.

The Doctor brushed him off. “Don’t thank me. Just doing a favour for Rose.”

Merlin approached the Doctor, while they were waiting to land, and said, “I’m worried about what will happen when I meet you again…I mean when you meet me again. I know you won’t remember, but Rose knows about me now, and she’ll react differently.”

The Doctor shrugged. “What can you do?”

Merlin handed him a new type of retcon he’d got from Jack last time they’d talked. “Give her the red one once we leave.”

The Doctor took the pills curiously. “What is it?”

“An amnesia pill, basically. It’ll make her forget the past few hours.”

“Permanently?”

“Until she takes the other one.”

“Where’d you get it?”

“Spoilers,” Merlin said again.

The Doctor nodded, and pocketed the pills.

Just then the room lurched. The Doctor peered at a dial on the console. “Well, here we are. London, September seventeenth, 2009.”

Merlin smiled at the Doctor. “Thanks.”

“You should check,” Rose said.

“Check?” Arthur repeated.

“Yes, check. The TARDIS doesn’t always work properly, and we don’t want to strand you.”

“What do you mean, ‘doesn’t always work properly’?!” Arthur demanded shrilly.

“It’s fine, Rose,” the Doctor retorted.

They stepped outside and Arthur turned on his mobile. “Well, according to this it’s the seventeenth.”

“See, nothing to worry about,” the Doctor said, shooting Rose a glare.

“Thanks again,” Merlin said, shaking the Doctor’s hand.

“Yeah, thanks,” Arthur said.

The Doctor shrugged. “See you around, Merlin. Your majesty.”

Rose waved to them, then she and the Doctor stepped into the TARDIS and it vanished.

Arthur gaped at it. “How does no one notice that?”

Merlin shrugged. “No one’s around, I guess.”

Arthur looked around at the deserted street, the parked cars and neon signs and sighed.

“Hey,” Merlin said softly. “Camelot might be gone, but you still have me.”

Arthur looked at him and smiled. “I’ll always have you.”

Merlin smiled back and kissed him.


End file.
